Page 617 - Rising Action

Author Notes:

Feel free to come up with your own alt-scripts for these particular moments. I didn't think they'd stretch out to individual gags across four full pages. Still, what I find interesting here is not the cartoonish antics in each beat (those are pretty normal for both cartoons and campaigns), but rather the back-to-back nature of them.

You've shared stories of an absurd nature before. But are there stories about absurd sequences, where there are multiple ridiculous events in a row? I'm sure there are.

In a Pony RPG, our group allied with a bunch of 1st and 2nd graders to take on a high school team in a snow fight. The high schoolers built themselves a fort and were bully the little foals with their snow-crafting superiority. Course, when a bunch of 6-8 year olds come knocking with PCs among their ranks...

The absurd sequence came about when my earth pony managed to break a hole into the enemy snow fort with her strength. The chunk of snow wall she pulled out was used as a shield against a high school pegasus above who was using clouds to rain snowballs. After shielding the 2nd-grade "Seal Teams" into the fort, my earth pony threw the remains of the snow shield at the pegasus. She dodged. I ran up the wall. She attempted to stop me by shooting lightning not unlike some sci-fi laser weapon, but ended up destroying the wall. I hopped from falling piece to falling piece (like Legolas in the Hobbit 3, only I did it first). She tries dropping all her ammo on me like a machine gun. I dodge the rain of snowballs and leap up to her on the cloud.

I spin-kick the pegasus off her cloud so hard she fell into a snow bank and got stuck. I land on the other side, making a crater in the same way The Incredible Hulk does. Crazy ridiculous sequence.

No spoilers, but one could argue that a party might be thrown for a CERTAIN friend the thrower feels more connected/alike to and the other guests are incidental. You could read further into that, but consider that the party-thrower had more in common with some guests than others.

Rainbow: I pull a branch to have it snap back and hit Applejack.
DM: Roll to hit. Applejack, roll to dodge.
Rainbow: Ha! 20, not natural.
AJ: ...crap. 1.
DM: Applejack, you get hit right in the face and sent tumbling, when you stand, you have a mouthful of leaves.
AJ: Oh, come on!

AJ: I grab a thicker branch and use it to launch mahself forward.
DM: Roll strength.
AJ: Nat 20! ...say, since this is handling a tree, can I apply my Cutie Mark bonus since it's part of my farm skills.
DM: ...sure. You go shooting past Rainbow like a rocket.
RD: Oh, COME ON!

AJ: Hey, you mentioned that beehive?
DM: ...yeah?
AJ: I buck it down as I pass ahead of Rainbow.
DM: Alright. Roll for it.
AJ: 17!
Rainbow: Seriously?
DM: The beehive doesn't fall, but the bees do come out and target Rainbow.
Rainbow: Umm...
DM: What?
Rainbow: Well, I think there's something you put in here in my backstory...
DM: Right, allergic to bee stings, traumatic event as a child leading to severe melissophobia...
RD: And Cowardly Flight occurs in the presence of bees, doubling my running speed per round as long as bees are in my line of sight.
DM: But you can't control which direction you run. Roll to see if you run in the right direction.
RD: ...ha!
DM: ...you are.
Applejack: SERIOUSLY?!

It's stated at the beginning of the comic that the DM created Rainbow's backstory, which she barely read.
I'm indicating that once Rainbow got interested in the role playing aspect, she read through it.

AJ: I knock over a bucket of maple syrup directly in Rainbow's way...*roll* 15.
DM: You manage to buck one of the hanging buckets from the tree onto the ground. Not having time to dodge, Rainbow Dash gets stuck in it as Applejack and the other racers race ahead.
RD: Wait, what do you mean "stuck"? It's maple syrup, not superglue! Roll to escape...*roll* 12.
DM: Whitetail wood maple syrup has properties similar to bubblegum: very elastic and very sticky. You start to take a few steps out, but you actively feel the syrup start dragging you back from the tension.
RD: Oh, like a rubber band...Wait a minute! I'll pull myself back away, then use the syrup to launch myself forward...*roll* Nat 20!
AJ: She can't actually do that, can she?
DM: Rainbow Dash's plan works flawlessly, not only giving her enough momentum to escape the syrup, but also launching her past the rest of the racers...including Applejack.
AJ: SERIOUSLY!?